EU ‘running down the clock’ in hope UK will cave in on trade
BRITAIN has accused the European Union of wanting to string out Brexit trade talks until the November deadline for an agreement in the hope of making the UK cave in to its demands.
With the latest round of negotiations beginning on Tuesday, Boris Johnson wants to up the pace after making it clear that he will not extend the transition period nor budge on sovereignty issues such as fishing rights.
Ministers are anxious to ensure that businesses have time to prepare for whatever trading regime is in place when the UK’s current arrangements come to an end on Dec 31.
Their aim is to make significant progress before Mr Johnson holds a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in July, at which the Prime Minister will formally reject an offer of an extension.
But there are fears that EU leaders think that, by running down the clock, Britain will fold at the last minute. Mr Johnson has made clear he is prepared to leave the EU without a trade deal.
A trade deal must be negotiated, translated and presented to the European Parliament by Nov 26 in order for it to be ratified by the end of the year.
The date coincides with MEPs’ penultimate plenary session of the year in Strasbourg, with the final one in mid-December coming too late to sign off any deal with the UK.
A UK source close to the negotiations said: “We expect next week’s round to be constructive and keep the process on track, but then we are going to need things to move forward faster.
“The EU can’t just mark time on these talks. It seems to have finally understood we aren’t going to move on fundamentals, so they now need to find an agreement that reflects this reality.”
Until now, the talks have been deadlocked over issues including fishing rights, with the EU insisting its members must maintain similar access to British waters as they currently do, and Mr Johnson stating that it will be up to Britain who fishes in its waters.
British officials insist they have been trying to move the talks forward across the board, with EU leaders failing to engage and assuming they can simply turn their attention to it in the autumn.
Senior British sources say that in the previous round of negotiations the EU would not discuss the proposals the UK had tabled, instead continuing to insist on its own non-negotiable positions.
The EU has made similar accusations against the UK. Michel Barnier, its chief negotiator, last month accused Britain of “slowing down discussions on important areas” and criticised the UK for failing to “commit seriously” on fishing, level playing field guarantees on tax, state aid, labour rights and the environment and the governance of the future trading relationship.
A senior government source said: “The EU needs to appreciate that they cannot use their usual tactic of delay to drag the talks into the autumn.”